thenhlfandomcom-20200215-history
Mike Smith
| birth_place = Kingston, Ontario, Canada | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 3 | weight_lb = 215 | position = Goaltender | catches = Left | league = NHL | team = Phoenix Coyotes | former_teams = Dallas Stars Tampa Bay Lightning | draft = 161st overall | draft_year = 2001 | draft_team = Dallas Stars | career_start = 2002 }} Mike Smith (born on March 22, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who plays for the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning. Mike is the eleventh goaltender in NHL history to score a goal which he did in the 2013–14 NHL season against the Detroit Red Wings in Phoenix. On January 7th, 2014, Mike was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team. Playing Career Junior Hockey Career Mike began his hockey career in 1999 playing for his hometown Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. That season, he played 15 games while backing up future NHL player Andrew Raycroft (who is currently with IF Björklöven). After the start of the 2000–2001 season, Mike moved to Sudbury Wolves where he played 43 games registering a 2.52 GAA and 0.913 save percentage in the regular season. The Wolves made it to the second round of the playoffs that year with Mike in the net. Dallas Stars In 2001, Mike was drafted by Dallas in the fifth round, 161st overall, and continued to play in Sudbury, again taking the Wolves into the post-season. Their playoff run ended in five games as the Barrie Colts won the series 4-1. The subsequent season saw Mike's departure from the junior leagues when he split the season between Lexington of the ECHL and Utah of the AHL. On October 26, 2002, he made his professional debut against the Dayton Bombers, scoring a statistically unlikely goal during a shutout in his first win, scoring on an empty net at 19:04 in the third period. Mike is the youngest goaltender ever to score in a professional game, doing so at 20 years old. Mike only played in 11 games in Utah backing up Jason Bacashihua and Corey Hirsch. For 2003–2004, Utah added Dan Ellis to their roster with whom Mike split back up duties, again to Bacashihua. He went to play for the Houston Aeros in 2004–2005 sharing the net almost equally with Josh Harding, putting up a 0.915 save percentage and 2.42 GAA. Mike joined the Iowa Stars for their inaugural season in 2005–2006. The Stars played him and Dan Ellis back and forth for much of the season until Mike appeared to take much of the netminding responsibilities late in the season. A Stars rally in the stretch secured the final Western Conference playoff spot. Mike started in every game of the seven-game series against the Milwaukee Admirals which Milwaukee ultimately won. Mike underwent shoulder surgery during the off-season for an injury he sustained during Iowa's 2005–2006 season. After a faster-than-expected recovery, he attended the Dallas Stars' training camp in the fall of 2006 and was awarded the backup goaltender position behind Marty Turco. In his first-ever regulation NHL game on October 21, 2006, Smith stopped 22 shots to post a shutout against the Phoenix Coyotes. On January 4, 2007, Mike was hit in the mask by a 100 mph slapshot, causing him to miss a few weeks with a concussion, but he came back strong, winning two games in which Turco was pulled. Then he registered a 32 save shutout vs the Ducks on February 10, 2007. Mike also started the year living with Marty Turco's family, however, he eventually moved out and then signed a two-year, $950,000 a year contract with the Stars. On June 14, 2007, Mike was named to the 2006–07 NHL All-Rookie Team. Tampa Bay Lightning On February 26, 2008, Mike was traded with Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and a 4th round draft pick in 2009 to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist. He made his Lightning debut the following night against the Minnesota Wild, stopping 24 of 27 shots in a 3-2 loss. On March 15, 2008, Mike recorded a 3-0 shutout victory over the New York Rangers. He became only the third rookie goaltender in National Hockey League history to record a shutout for two different teams in the same season and the first to do so in 79 years. Mike recorded 14 wins for the Lightning during the 2008-09 season before suffering a concussion that kept him out of action for the remainder of the season. On February 2, 2011, the Tampa Bay Lightning placed him on waivers. Mike cleared waivers the next day and was assigned to the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. Mike returned to Tampa Bay later in the season and backing up Dwayne Roloson during the Lightning 2011 post-season run, made his playoff debut in place of Roloson in the third period of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Bruins. Phoenix Coyotes On July 1, 2011, Mike signed a two-year contract worth $2 million with the Phoenix Coyotes. He set the NHL record for the most saves in a regulation shutout victory as he stopped all 54 shots he faced in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 3, 2012. He went on to record an impressive 38 wins in his first season in Phoenix as the Coyotes qualified for their third consecutive playoff berth and finished fifth in voting for the Vezina trophy. In the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Mike led the Coyotes to their first playoff series win since 1987, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 in the series. He and the Coyotes went on to defeat the Nashville Predators in the Western conference semi-finals, winning the series 4-1. The Coyotes then faced the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Finals, losing the series 4 games to 1. Mike posted a superb 1.99 GAA and a .944 save percentage, some of the best numbers for starting goaltenders in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On July 5, 2013, he signed a 6-year deal worth $34 million with the Phoenix Coyotes. On October 19, 2013, Mike became the seventh NHL goalie to score a goal with a shot on goal (four other goaltenders have been credited based on own-goals by the opposition). He scored with 0.1 seconds left in regulation on an empty net during a win against the Detroit Red Wings. Career Statistics Personal Life Mike was raised in Verona, Ontario, Canada. On September 3, 2010, he married former Canadian World Cup skier Brigette Acton. Category:Goaltenders Category:Pheniox coyote player Category:Tampa Bay Lightning players Category:Dallas Stars players Category:Canadian ice hockey goaltenders